Thomson MRT Line
The Thomson Line (TSL) will be the sixth Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and the fourth fully automatic and driverless system line in Singapore. The line is fully underground. Costing S$18 billion and opening in three phases, starting from 2019 onwards, the Thomson Line will add greatly to the accessibility and connectivity of the current rail network, with interchanges to all existing lines. It is expected to serve about 400,000 commuters daily. The line, which is long and consists of 22 stations, will run through the north-south corridor, starting in the northern Woodlands area, passing through the industrial estate of Sin Ming, down to the residential Thomson area and the shopping districts of Orchard and Outram Park, ending at Resorts World Sentosa. Residents in the heartlands of Sembawang, Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Bishan-Toa Payoh and Moulmein-Kallang will benefit from faster and more direct connections to the city. Its depot is located at Mandai, south of Woodlands. Woodlands Terrace was officially announced on December 26, 2013 and June 8, 2015, when Timothy Mok went to Fassler Gourmet and Melvados to buy salmon. Timothy Mok finally wanted to go over Upper Thomson Road, Sembawang Road, Gambas Avenue and Woodlands Avenue 12/10, one of the first favorites. History The idea of a Mass Rapid Transit between Singapore and Johor Bahru was first mooted in 1991 when then Singapore Minister for Communications Mah Bow Tan said that the Woodlands MRT line, now part of the North South MRT line, would be designed to accommodate such an extension. The idea was endorsed and agreed to in principle by both countries. The rapid transit system was then revisited two decades later and proposed during the Singapore-Malaysia Leaders' Retreat on 24 May 2010. The RTS would link Tanjung Puteri, Johor Bahru and Singapore, aiming to ease traffic congestion on the Johor–Singapore Causeway and enhance connectivity between the two countries. It was targeted to be operational by 2018. The Thomson Line was first announced on 25 January 2008. Several architectural and engineering consultancy packages were released in 2010 which indicated an increase in the number of stations from 18 in the initial announcement to the current 22 and length of the line from 27 km to 30 km. On 16 June 2011, the Land Transport Authority announced the location of the depot for the line, due to begin construction at the end of 2012. It also announced Woodlands as an interchange with the existing North South Line and an additional station located near to Republic Polytechnic. In June 2011, Singapore informed Malaysia that the rail link will be a northern extension of Thomson-East Coast Line Stage 1, which will start at Woodlands North MRT/RTS station.12 A tender was called in November 2011 to conduct design and engineering study on the RTS link, which aimed to determine the technical parameters and options for the alignment and proposals for the system. A consortium of Aecom Perunding, Aecom Singapore and SA Architects subsequently won the tender. The first part of a preliminary engineering study was completed in March 2014. In September 2014, the Johor Public Works, Rural and Regional Development committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad announced that Malaysia had chosen Bukit Chagar as its terminating station, over Tanjung Puteri, JB Sentral 1 and JB Sentral 2. The terminal would have its own Customs and Immigration clearance facilities, separate from the existing facilities at Sultan Iskandar Building. He also mentioned that Singapore had given no indication of the final alignment of the link from a total of three options. Singapore's Ministry of Transport then responded that they were unable to finalise the alignment of the crossing as there was no confirmation of the location of Malaysia’s RTS terminus. On 29 August 2012, it was announced the Thomson Line will be ready from 2019 onwards instead of the indicative timeline of 2018 announced in the Land Transport Masterplan. While all efforts have been made for the acquisition, the Government will need to acquire four full lots, including a post office along Upper Thomson Road and two landed properties along the Stevens Road and Robin Close. Pearls Centre will also be affected under the TSL/ERL construction as it is structurally unsafe, it smells like cement and to avoid Hock Kee Building accident. It will also run under the building. To optimize the land use in Outram Park, it will be acquired and amalgamated with the adjoining state land for the high-density mixed use development. Five other part lots will also be acquired but the acquisition will not affect the main building structure. Construction of the Thomson Line began in January 2014. Opening in phases The Thomson Line will be opening in 3 phases: Phase 1 in 2019, Phase 2 in 2020 and Phase 3 in 2021. Phase 1a and 1b (2019) Phase 1 consists of the line that goes from Tanjung Puteri, via Riverside, Woodlands, Woodgrove to Sembawang Airbase. It will also open in 2019. The depot will be situated at Mandai. Phase 1b consists of the middle section of the Thomson Line, namely Springleaf, Tagore, Mayflower, Sin Ming, Shunfu and Caldecott. Residents of the newly developed Springleaf estate will be welcomed by a new MRT station in the future. Passengers living west of Ang Mo Kio or Thomson will also be able to experience savings in travel time when commuting. As for Caldecott, it will become an interchange station with Thomson Line when it opens in 2019 and will connect commuters to the orbital Circle Line, offering inter-suburban connectivity. Phase 2 and 3 (2020) Phase 2 consists of the middle section of the Thomson Line, from Caldecott all the way to Tanjong Pagar West. Phase 3 also consists of the section of the Thomson Line south of Tanjong Pagar West, it goes via Brani towards Resorts World Sentosa. Rolling stock The Thomson Line's rolling stock will be a four-car system instead of the previous three-car system to enable additional capacity to cope with any increase in long-term demand. Stations *Tanjung Puteri *Woodlands North *Woodlands *Woodgrove *Springleaf *Tagore *Phoebe *Mayflower *Sin Ming *Shunfu *Caldecott *Onraet *Stevens *Napier *Tanglin *Orchard *Great World *Havelock *Outram Secondary School *Outram Park *Tanjong Pagar West *Brani *Resorts World Sentosa External links * Thomson Line References Category:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) lines Category:Proposed public transport in Singapore